Therapy News And Blogging

Vicarious Trauma, also called compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, or secondary stress, is a type of trauma that sometimes occurs for people who helps others through very difficult situations and emotions. We know that this type of trauma is a risk for those in the helping professions, like counselors and first responders. But it is also possible for others who witness a traumatic event, or who are close to someone who has experienced trauma, to develop symptoms of Vicarious Trauma. [More]

The New Year is just around the corner, which means that it is important for us to take a look at what is going on in our lives and see how we want to change it in the future. It can be really hard to determine exactly what you want to do, especially if you've failed at New Year's resolutions before, but I'm telling you, it's one of the best things that you can do for yourself. Even if you don't make these grandiose goals, you can make sure that you are able to move forward in your life. In today's article, we're going to explore some mental health goals you can make and see why they're important for you to make. [More]

How much passion should a psychologist have for clients' issues to get resolved? Therapy should be a place where you can discover different sides of yourself, and then work with your therapist to make sure that your needs get met in a way that makes space for diverse feelings. If it is a supportive and collaborative environment, therapy can be a great place to discover and make peace with different sides of yourself so that you can move forward in an integrated, self-aware manner. [More]

Writing in a journal, or journaling, can serve as a valuable adjunct to psychotherapy. Keeping a journal is useful to gain and maintain perspective, to process stressors, generate ideas, and recognize functional and dysfunctional patterns in one's life. A journal can be a place for you to vent your emotions, and to take some private time every day to reflect on your life (Bodeeb, 2014). Journals can be used to record changes and milestones in life, and can also be passed on to the next generation as a part of family history. [More]

One of the most difficult things to deal with in life is losing someone that you love. But when they take their own life in some way, the suffering becomes that much worse for those left behind. Questions go through your mind and you aren't totally sure how to deal with it. And that's okay - it's hard to be the people that are left behind from such a painful experience. International Survivors of Suicide Day is November 15th, and this day is to help people realize that they are not alone in this journey, and that they do not need to feel afraid. [More]

A diverse population of people seeks behavioral health services every year, and it’s essential that they receive services that are effective and culturally sensitive. Developing cultural competence is an ongoing, lifelong process. There is always more to learn. When counselors have cultural awareness and competence, the clients they serve are more likely to engage, reach their goals, and have a positive experience with behavioral health services.
FB- Are you culturally competent? Find out if you understand what it means to be aware of diverse populations and its importance in our lives. [More]

Grief is the human response to loss and the suffering you feel when something is lost or someone you love is gone. Gone can mean death, as well as merely gone from your life. The more you loved the person that is no longer with you, the greater your grief will be. The most common action associated with grief is the loss of a loved one, but many other things in our lives can cause us to suffer, including relationships, things we take for granted, such as a job or our home, or a dream. [More]

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing… Perhaps more strictly, like suspense. Or like waiting: just hanging about waiting for something to happen. It gives life a permanently provisional feeling.” C.S. Lewis [More]

Some people do everything that they can to make sure that they avoid conflict, while others embrace it and get "toe to toe" with it so that they can feel brave and empowered. No matter which type of person you are, you should know that there is a healthy way for you to deal with conflict, whether it's in your friendship or in your marriage. In this article, we're going to take a closer look at conflict and how to deal with it in a healthy manner. [More]

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) was formerly known as multiple personality disorder, and remains to this day as one of the most controversial and misunderstood disorders in the Diagnostic Manual. It is a difficult diagnosis to make, and often is more difficult to treat. It has been the topic of many Hollywood productions which gives laypeople an idea that they understand what it is, but as is often the case in movies and media, there is some sensationalism that occurs. It is not a common diagnosis and is only one of the classified dissociative disorders. [More]